silica

/ˈsɪl.ɪ.kə/

//ˈsɪl.ɪ.kə// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"silica" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“silica” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #20,498. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#20,498
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
10
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Silicon dioxide.

Corpus desk

Index EN-silica · silica · English

silica · rank #20,498 · 8 variants · 10 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #20,498
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 10 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH sig

Nearest frequency peer: sig (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “silica”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “silica” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

silica vs slice
67% similar
silica vs silva
67% similar
silica vs slick
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for silica
PropertyValue
Headwordsilica
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsɪl.ɪ.kə/
Letters6
Frequency rank#20,498
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs10
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “silica”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).silicalands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “sig” (#20,497), “simmer” (#20,499), “Shrek” (#20,496). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “silica” is #20,498. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around silica (IPA /ˈsɪl.ɪ.kə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #20,498 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for silica, with forms such as "islica", "siilca", and "silcia". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 10 confusable-pair relationships, "slice", "silva", "slick", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From New Latin silica, from Latin silex (“hard stone, flint”), on model of alumina, soda. The correct English form is silica, spelled S-I-L-I-C-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    Silicon dioxide.
  2. 2
    Any of the silica group of the silicate minerals.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how silica appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Its Blair County property was sited at the foot of ganister-covered Dunnings Mountain to compete with the Mount Union plants making silica bricks for the steel industry.

Etymology

From New Latin silica, from Latin silex (“hard stone, flint”), on model of alumina, soda.

Synonyms

E551 when used as an anti-caking agent

This word in other languages

sílice(Español)silice(Français)sílica(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • islica
  • siilca
  • silcia
  • siliac
  • silicca
  • sillica
  • sliica
  • ssilica

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of silica - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

islica2siilca2silcia2siliac2silicca1sillica1sliica2ssilica1
Edit distance from "silica"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "silica"?
"silica" is spelled S-I-L-I-C-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsɪl.ɪ.kə/.
What does "silica" mean?
As a noun, "silica" means: Silicon dioxide.
What words are commonly confused with "silica"?
"silica" is commonly confused with "slice", "silva", "slick". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "silica"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "silica" is /ˈsɪl.ɪ.kə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "silica"?
From New Latin silica, from Latin silex (“hard stone, flint”), on model of alumina, soda. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "silica", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

simmer#20,499smokey#20,500sharpe#20,494serene#20,490

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

Shrek8 variantssnuck8 variantsTanaka8 variantsraccoon8 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list